John Duncan Sr.
John James Duncan Sr. (1919-1988) was an attorney and politician from Tennessee who served as mayor of Knoxville from 1959 to 1964 and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 until his death in 1988. He was born and raised in Scott County.
Early Life
Born March 24, 1919 in Huntsville, John Duncan was the son of Flem Baird Duncan and Cassie Lee. His father was a veteran of the Spanish-American War. His maternal grandfather, William Lee, was a superintendent of schools in Scott County who later served as postmaster in Glenmary. His great-uncle through his father’s mother’s side of the family, Beaty Cecil, was a sheriff and judge in Scott County who was elected to the state legislature on multiple occasions.
A childhood accident caused Duncan to lose part of the pinky on one hand. As told by his younger brother, Joe Duncan, Joe was idly passing the time by banging on a timber with a hatchet while their house was being rebuilt in the aftermath of a 1933 tornado. As he did so, he accidentally hit John Duncan’s hand, causing part of his pinky to be amputated. “John went to the legal fraternity at the University of Tennessee and to Congress and everywhere else with that stubby hand I had given him,” Duncan said.
As the brothers hoed corn on the Huntsville farm one day, John Duncan threw down his hoe and declared that he was tired of the corn field, saying he was going to go to Knoxville, get an education, become mayor, and go to Congress.
Later, he won a $25 scholarship from Sears-Roebuck, and hitchhiked from Huntsville to Knoxville with $5 in his pocket to enroll at the University of Tennessee in 1939.
World War II
Duncan served in the U.S. Army from May 1942 to December 1945. He was a special agent in the Security and Intelligence Division.
Law Practice
Following his time in the U.S. Army, Duncan enrolled in Cumberland University’s law school, from which he graduated in June 1947. He returned to Knoxville and opened a law practice with his brother, Joe. When one of their first clients paid his $100 fee with ten-dollar bills, Duncan looked at the money and then at his brother and said, “This sure beats hoeing corn, doesn’t it, Joe?”
Duncan accepted a position as assistant district attorney in Knox County in 1948. He held that position until 1956.
In 1952, while serving as commander of the American Legion’s East Tennessee Division, Duncan drafted a resolution condemning the University of Tennessee’s film society for planning to show several films starring Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin had been accused of being a communist sympathizer. The university canceled the event as a result, though the school’s newspaper, the Orange & White, called Duncan’s complaint “nonsense.”
Mayor of Knoxville
Duncan was elected mayor of Knoxville in 1959, replacing Jack Dance, who had died while in office. He succeeded Cas Walker, who filled out the remainder of Dance’s term. His first initiative was an overhaul of Market Square, including the building of the Market Square Mall.
The early 1960s were a time of great racial strife in Southern cities. Duncan was credited with helping to mend racial relations in Knoxville, which helped the city avoid much of the violence that resulted in other Southern cities.
In 1960, black students from Knoxville College staged a series of sit-ins to protest segregation at downtown lunch counters. Duncan joined with the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce to form a Good Will Committee, which encouraged downtown businesses to integrate their lunch counter. Before summer ended, most of the downtown businesses had done so.
Congress
Ten months into his second term as Knoxville’s mayor in 1964, Duncan won the Republican primary to replace the late Howard H. Baker Sr. of Huntsville as U.S. Representative for the 2nd District of Tennessee. Baker, the father of future U.S. Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr., had died in office in January 1964 and his wife Irene served out the rest of his term.
In the general election of 1964, Duncan defeated Democrat Willard Yarborough by nearly 10 percentage points. It was the closest race in the district since Baker’s first run in 1950, but Duncan still fared better in the district than Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who only narrowly defeated Lyndon B. Johnson.
Duncan was reelected 11 times and never had another close contest. He was unopposed twice, in 1972 and 1982. More than once his margin of victory was the largest in the nation.
Duncan supported U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and advocated for tougher policies against antiwar demonstrators. He voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. He was one of the first congressmen to endorse Richard Nixon for president in 1967.
The 1970s were marked by a struggle between Duncan and environmentalists over the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to construct the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River. Duncan was ultimately successful in the fight.
Family
Duncan married Lois Swisher in 1942. They had four children. His son, John J. “Jimmy” Duncan Jr., won his father’s congressional seat in 1988 and continued to serve until his retirement in 2018. A daughter, Becky Duncan Massey, currently represents Knoxville in the Tennessee Senate.
Death
Duncan died of cancer on June 21, 1988, while still serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was 69 at the time of his death. He is buried at Duncan Family Cemetery in Huntsville.